The “tick” in showy tick trefoil refers to this plant’s seed pods, which have an uncanny knack for
leaping onto clothing and staying there. These plants are North American natives.

Identification: Plants are up to 3' (91 cm) tall, usually erect,
sometimes canted at angles or lying along the ground. Stems are covered with fine white hairs, and have
long vertical striations. Leaves
are roughly oval in shape, and 1½-3½" (3.8-8.9 cm) long × ½-1¾" (1.3-4.6 cm) in size. They often
occur in groups of three. Flowerheads are panicles up to 8" (20 cm) long, with pink flowers each
about ½-¾" (1.3-1.9 cm) long. Each flower consists of an upward-pointing petal and a downward-pointing
pouch-shaped petal.
Seedpods loosely resemble peas, and are up to 2½" (6.3 cm) long,
consisting of several light green segments, each shaped like the letter ‘D’. The pods have velcro-like
hairs that adhere to passing animals and amateur botanists.